Description:

“Anglo-Dutch Challenger”
1999 Marcos Mantis Challenge
Genuine factory car, rare LHD example

Originally founded by Jem Marsh and Frank Costin in 1959, British sports car manufacturer Marcos had already been rejuvenated once with Marsh’s restart in 1981 when during the late nineties its racing division was gradually transferred to Cor Euser in the Netherlands, culminating in a full takeover in 2000 by Dutch engineering firm Eurotech run by Wim Noorman, who had been a long-time sponsor of the marque’s GT racing activities. Preceding that acquisition by two years, the Mantis Challenge was launched, a one-make cup series to promote the Mantis road car that was introduced in 1997. The racing version combined a lightweight tubular steel chassis with a carbon-fibre and fibreglass body to create a sculptural, aggressive shape firmly in the tradition of the great British GT cars.

In total, Marcos Engineering based in Westbury, Wiltshire, built 38 Challenge cars for the twin-pronged Dunlop-backed race series that ran both in the UK and in the Netherlands. Following a slow start in 1998, the 1999 UK series was won by Ed Horner, while Rob Knook was the Dutch champion. The series used the coupé version of the Mantis fitted with a Rover V8 engine. Weighing in at 1100 kgs, the cars were also accepted as GT2 entries in the British GT Championship, and as ‘GT3s’ or ‘GT4s’ in the French GT Championship, preceding the birth of today’s GT3 and GT4 categories in 2005 and 2006 respectively. When the British GT Championship also introduced a GT3 class for 2000, the UK series was canned, but in the Netherlands, it continued into the 21st century, supervised by Peter van Erp’s Cavallino Engineering crew headed by Ad Verkuijlen and Maarten Buitenhuis, before merging with the Dutch Supercar Cup to create the Dutch Supercar Challenge spearheaded by Dick van Elk.

Many of the Mantis Challenge cars were given second lives in the Britcar Endurance Championship and the Dutch Supercar Challenge, in which the Mantis Challenge cars continued to compete in their own class. Rob Knook, who had also claimed the 2000 crown, won the first DSC-encapsulated championship in 2001, ahead of Cor Euser and Toon van de Haterd. Meanwhile, Herman Buurman took the overall GT title in the Dutch Supercar Challenge proper, racing a Mantis Challenge converted to GT3 spec. In 2002, the Mantis Challenge was placed in the series’ GT2 class and continued to be raced in the Dutch Supercar Challenge and the new Euro GT series for several more seasons.

The example on offer here – a genuine factory car built in period as chassis SA9FMBXXWXC050312 – was built in 1999 and later campaigned by Dutchman Dennis Swart in the Dutch Supercar Challenge and the Euro GT series between 2003 and 2005. Like most former Marcos Challenge cars, it was now equipped with a reliable 4.6L Quadcam Ford Modular V8 engine producing over 340bhp.

Later it found yet another leash of life in the hands of its current Italian owner, who after an engine rebuild in 2022 successfully campaigned it in historics, winning the 2023 Youngtimer Cup and its class in the Masters Endurance Racing League race at Mugello in 2024.

General

• One of 38 factory-built “Mantis Racer” examples, one of only 5 built in Left-Hand Drive.
• 1100 kg
• Italian ACI sport Technical Logbook
   

Chassis and Bodywork

• Original welded tubular steel
• Front suspension: McPherson Struts and Ford Sierra Group A uprights
• Rear suspension: double wishbone
• Composite body with cockpit roof air inlet
• Air jacks fitted
• 180 cm wide single plane rear wing
   

Drive line

• 4.6L Ford Cobra Quad Cam V8 32V, rebuilt in 2022, only 19 hours since
• 340 bhp
• Dry Sump lubricated
• Drenth 5-speed sequential gearbox
• Drexler M-Diff, dedicated to the Marcos Mantis
• New Quarter Master Clutch (0 km)
• Differential, Gearbox and Power steering coolers fitted

Brakes

• Discs: 380mm front, 360 mm rear
• Adjustable balance
• Calipers: AP front, Willwood rear

Safety

• Certified RAC MSA Safety Roll cage (Safety devices Ltd. Model Q54, label is present on cage)
• GiPi Cars fuel tank and certificate, valid until 2027

Spares

• 2x Hydratrack LSD differentials
• 1x Ford 4.6L Quadcam standard engine
• 3 sets of alloy wheels
• 1 complete Quarter Master clutch assembly
• Assorted spares: brake pads, damper springs, front uprights etc.

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